No-show lets roads roll

For the second time in two years, the House of
Representatives has shied away from a proposal to make timber
companies pay for their logging roads in national forests (HCN,
6/9/97). In July, representatives voted 211-209 against an
amendment that would have slashed $41.5 million in roads
funding.

"We clearly had the votes to win," says
Steve Holmer of the Western Ancient Forest Campaign, who calls the
funding "a blatant giveaway of the public's money." Fifteen house
members missed the vote, he says, and 10 of them had promised to
vote for the amendment, introduced by Reps. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass.,
and John Porter, R-Ill.

Still, says Holmer, the
timber industry can't claim complete victory. The House passed a
lighter version of the amendment that will cut $5.6 million from
the roads program and put a cap on purchaser credits, which allow
timber companies to trade trees for roads. Nevada Democrat Richard
Bryan is now pushing a full-strength amendment in the
Senate.